Managing and Affording Your Prescription Medications in the Hard Times of COVID-19 Pandemic

Federal Management Emergency Authority has airlifted critical supplies, including anti-malarial medication, ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers serving the infected individuals to ensure that there is no shortage of needed healthcare to meet the growing demand of an increasing number of patients.

Cargo planes have already delivered 300 million gloves, 8 million masks and three million gowns to meet the increasing demand.^[2] Federal government passed legislation on March 18, 2020, mandating the health insurance companies to cover the costs of COVID-19 testing and testing-related expenses with no out-of-pocket costs for the policyholders till the emergency is in force.^[3]

Coronavirus is common among animals of all types. It recently evolved into a form that can infect humans. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel beta coronavirus with an unknown causal agent. It is primarily transmitted from human-to-human through respiratory droplets and close contact. The virus is believed to have initially infected people at a seafood market in Wuhan, China. It quickly spread to other parts of the world from there. On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed WHO about treating people in Wuhan who visited a live animal market (wet market) in the city of pneumonia from an unknown source. The infection since then has spread to nearly all parts of the globe, with hundreds of people being sickened due to its community spread.

Although the COVID-19 outbreak started in China but the pandemic’s epicenter now has shifted to Europe. The region is seeing more coronavirus active cases each day than China did at the height of its outbreak. World Health Organization has declared coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. It was declared a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020.^[4]

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-Cov-2) disease was first confirmed in the USA on January 20, 2020. As of April 06, 2020, The USA has the most confirmed coronavirus active cases in the world. The country ranks third in the total number of deaths due to this respiratory infectious disease, preceded by Italy and Spain.^[5]There have been more than 9500 deaths and more than 335,000 positive cases in the country as on April 06, 2020.

Center for Disease Control (CDC) has warned that the widespread community transmission of the disease may require a large number of people to seek hospitalization that may overload the already strained healthcare system and pharmaceutical industry. CDC has projected that between 160 to 214 million people will be infected in the US A from COVID-19, while between 200,000 to 1.7 million could die.^[6]

Coronavirus can jump between people due to close contacts and handshakes. This droplet virus can also infect other persons if an infected person sneezes or coughs, as the little droplets of mucus and saliva may enter another person in close proximity through mouth, nose and eyes, and infect them. The virus can also fall on surfaces such as doorknobs, tables, lift buttons, pharmacy counters, etc. If a healthy person touches such surfaces, it can transmit to them. A sick person can infect two to three other persons on an average that makes the disease easily communicable.

Though no vaccination or treatment has so far been approved by the FDA or WHO, widespread clinical testing and trials are underway in the USA and other countries of the world. There is a widespread hype around anti-malaria medication chloroquine to treat coronavirus infection, but no pharmacological proof is available on how this or other drugs actually work for symptoms and treatment for coronavirus.

Stay home as much as possible, especially if you are sick, have dry cough, fever or running nose. Isolate and keep yourself in quarantine for at least two weeks as the coronavirus has an incubation period of one day to two weeks, and coronavirus major symptoms such as high fever, breathlessness, joint pain and cough may show up on any day during this period.

Age and conditions of coronavirus cases vary widely among different demographics.  If you are a young and healthy person, you may not feel sick due to COVID-19 or remain asymptomatic for a week or more, but can still spread the infection to other persons, especially older people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer and heart problem. So, quarantine yourself at home, hospital or hotel if you have traveled recently or visited a crowed area, or you suspect infection or have symptoms. This will minimize the chances of the virus spread by you. With fewer people getting sick at once, the chances of everyone receiving good care are increased.

1. Wash the floors with bleach, and surfaces such as tabletop and staircase railings etc. with disinfectant. If you visit a pharmacy, maintain social distancing. It will give the virus less opportunity to jump on you. This will also help slow coronavirus impact on the masses.

2. Before visiting a pharmacy, make sure that you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap or apply an alcohol-based sanitizer.

3. Wear a mask and stay at least six feet away from others while at the pharmacy.

4. Avoid touching the objects that are touched by many other people, such as doorknob, pharmacy counter and lift button.

5. Use a hanky while sneezing and cough at your elbow if you need to.

6. A tray should be used to collect prescriptions.

7. Avoid staying at the pharmacy longer than needed.

8. If you are an older person with co-morbidity conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure and heart diseases, avoid visiting a pharmacy at this time. Instead, ask a family member, friend, caregiver or neighbor to fill the prescription for you at a local pharmacy.

9. Do not buy OTC pain-relievers out of impulse. It will create a shortage for those who need them for their chronic pain.

10. Avoid wearing accessories, such as watches, bracelets and rings.

11. You may obtain a one-time early refill supply for each medication for the maximum quantity mentioned in your insurance plan’s benefits. However, specialty medications are limited to one-month supply.

12. While returning home from the pharmacy, wash your hands again with soap or apply sanitizer.

Once the peak of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic passes and there is a plateau in the ascending coronavirus cases graph, the mass rollout of rapid testing and vaccination will be needed to help the nation recover and return to normalcy. An approved COVID-19 vaccine may be available by July 2020, as told by President Trump. However, experimental drugs are widely being prescribed meanwhile by the doctors in the USA for the symptoms and treatment for coronavirus.

Whenever an approved coronavirus vaccine becomes available, it will be patented and likely to be pricey. Some other medications with related-symptoms may also become costly due to their high demand and short supply that may cause unnecessary healthcare burden on the people fighting their chronic illnesses. It may make it harder for them to adhere to their regular treatment routine in such hard times.

However, with EzRx drug card, you can still manage to afford your chronic disease and other sudden illness medications, including coronavirus vaccines and coronavirus major symptom medications. The drug discount card can be used at over 65,000 network pharmacies all over the USA including big chains such as Winn Dixie, Walgreens, Target, CVS, Walmart and Rite Aid. The drug savings card allows you prescription savings of 30% on average on branded medications, and up to 85% on generic medications.

You can use your drug discount card for medication savings for all medications that you need to treat coronavirus infection and other illnesses. The medication savings card can be used as Albuterol prescription savings card, Adipex discount card, Benzonatate savings card, and to save on flu vaccines.

You can use your EzRx drug discount card to save on medication costs with insurance as it works independently of your insurance. You can use it instead of your insurance, as you can buy many medications, including medications prescribed for COVID-19 safety measures at a lower price than your insurance’s copays or deductibles.

All you have to do is present your EzRx prescription savings card to the pharmacist while filling your prescription to save on prescriptions. You can save on prescription medications for an unlimited number of fills and refills. You can also share your drug card with your family members, friends, colleagues and neighbors to help them also save on meds.

To maximize your savings on drugs, visit www.ezrxdrugcard.com and check drug prices. We have negotiated a low price for many medications, and you may find the lowest prices of various medications at the site when you check drug prices there, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To get your FREE digital drug savings card, simply text the keyword “EZRX” to phone number 21000, or you can also download it from www.ezrxdrugcard.com. The prescription cost savings card is provided FREE of cost to all with no upfront costs, renewal fee or membership costs. The card is provided FREE of costs to all with no limitations related to their health history, infection, including coronavirus infection, income or age. The card is provided FREE to allow you to use it immediately to save on prescription drugs.

If you wish to participate in our drug discount card affiliate program, please call EzRx drug card customer care at 1-888-352-3736. If you are a healthcare provider, employer, charity, non-profit, church, homemaker or a student, you can earn passive income by becoming an affiliate through our discount drug card affiliate program. You will be provided free printed drug discount cards that you can distribute for free to your customers, employees, visitors and the people you know. Each time the card provided by you is used by someone, you will be paid a commission. This way, you will be able to earn passive income month-after-month, without making any investment whatsoever.